EIB Advisory helps develop groundbreaking Thirty Meter Telescope project in La Palma

EIB Advisory helps develop groundbreaking Thirty Meter Telescope project in La Palma
EIB Advisory helps develop groundbreaking Thirty Meter Telescope project in La Palma
Advertised on

EIB Advisory will contribute to the project’s feasibility study. Comprehensive economic and financial planning advisory services will be provided to accelerate European leadership on the cutting edge of astronomy. This strategic investment will position Europe at the forefront of global astronomical research.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced InvestEU Advisory Hub-backed advisory support for the development of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on the Spanish island of La Palma, a project that will place Europe at the forefront of global astronomical research. The initiative, led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), involves an international consortium of research institutes, private universities and governments, including the United States, Japan, India and Canada.

If located in La Palma, the telescope will strengthen Europe’s role in global research and innovation, enabling scientists to explore the universe with unprecedented precision. The telescope will cost an estimated €3 billion to develop. To assist the consortium and IAC in the decision-making process regarding the telescope’s location in Europe, the EIB Advisory team will put together a robust plan to direct its strategic development. The plan includes identifying possible public and private sector investors to develop one of the most pieces of scientific infrastructure for the coming decades.

European Investment Bank Group President Nadia Calviño said: “At the European Investment Bank, we are fully committed to backing science and research in the Canary Islands, in Spain, across Europe and around the world. Europe is a global tech leader and the cutting-edge research in La Palma will have a major positive impact.”

European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva added:“Europe does not lead in science by chance, it leads by investing together. The telescope in La Palma shows how European investment strengthens research excellence and competitiveness.”

Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias Director Valentín Martínez Pillet said: “At the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, we have been working intensively to make the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on La Palma a realistic prospect. We are delighted by the collaboration developed in recent months with the European Investment Bank, whose professionalism and constructive support have been instrumental in advancing this work.”

EIB

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.

The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.

All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.

Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average.

InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investments for the European Union's policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment. The InvestEU Advisory Hub, through advisory support offered to project developers, improves the quality of investment projects and their alignment with the EU long term policy goals.

Related projects
Thirty Meter Telescope - TMT
Thirty Meter Telescope - TMT
Una vez construido, el Telescopio de Treinta Metros (Thirty Meter Telescope, TMT) será el telescopio terrestre más avanzado y potente de la historia, así como el telescopio óptico infrarrojo más grande del hemisferio norte que existirá en ese momento. Se incluye entre los denominados de tipo Telescopio Extremadamente Grande por el diámetro de su
In progress
Related news
Imagen digital del TMT
Press release
The CCI supports the option for the TMT to be installed at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory
Statement supporting the selection of La Palma for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) site: The Comité Científico Internacional (CCI) of the Canary Islands Observatories enthusiastically welcomes the possibility that the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) may ultimately choose the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) on La Palma as its site. The ORM offers outstanding astronomical conditions, decades of successful international cooperation in operating telescopes, and a robust legal framework protecting its dark skies. At its meeting on 27 November 2025 on the island of La Palma, the CCI
Advertised on
Robert P. Kirshner, Executive Director of the Thirty Metre Telescope International Observatory (TIO), during his talk at the IAC.
Press release
Robert P. Kirshner, Executive Director of the TMT International Observatory, visits the IAC and gives a colloquium on the Thirty Meter Telescope
The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has received a visit from Robert P. Kirshner, Executive Director of the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory (TIO) . During his stay at the IAC headquarters in La Laguna, he was welcomed by the center’s director, Valentín Martínez Pillet, and by the deputy director, Eva Villaver Sobrino, along with other members of the research institute. During his visit, he was able to learn firsthand about the institution’s scientific and technological capabilities and gave a colloquium titled The Thirty Meter Telescope and Science of the Future
Advertised on
La ministra Diana Morant junto al director del CDTI, José Moisés Martín; el director del IAC, Valentín Martínez; la subdirectora del IAC, Eva Villaver y la Secretaria General de Innovación, Teresa Riesgo.
Press release
La ministra de Ciencia anuncia en el Consejo Rector del IAC que el Gobierno de España ofrece hasta 400 millones de euros para construir en La Palma el TMT
La ministra de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Diana Morant, ha anunciado que el Gobierno de España está dispuesto a ofrecer hasta 400 millones de euros, a través del Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación (CDTI), para atraer a la isla de La Palma, en Canarias, el Telescopio de Treinta Metros (TMT, por sus siglas en inglés). La ministra lo ha anunciado durante la reunión del Consejo Rector del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), que ha presidido hoy en La Palma, donde ha informado que esta tarde ha remitido una propuesta formal a la Fundación que gestiona el TMT
Advertised on
News type
Photomontage
Scope
Agreement
Agreements
Institutions/firms
Large telescopes
TMT
Thirty Meter Telescope

It may interest you

  • John Beckman Emeritus Research Professor of the IAC
    Photomontage
    John Beckman Emeritus Research Professor of the IAC is awarded the Prize for Research of the La Orotava Festival of Science
    John Beckman, Emeritus Research Professor of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has been awarded the Prize for Research of the third edition of the Prizes at the La Orotava Science Fair. This award takes note of the broad and productive career of Beckman in the field of astrophysics, and his key work in the promotion of scientific knowledge from the Canary Islands. After studying Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Oxford , Beckman moved to a postdoctoral position at Berkeley (U. California), worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of Caltech , and
    Advertised on
  • Visita de la delegación del Instituto de Óptica, Mecánica Fina y Física de Changchun (CIOMP) al IAC.
    Photomontage
    El IAC y CIOMP coordinan la fabricación de los espejos del telescopio SELF
    El Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) ha recibido la visita de una delegación del Instituto de Óptica, Mecánica Fina y Física de Changchun (CIOMP), perteneciente a la Academia China de Ciencias (CAS), en el marco de una colaboración técnica vinculada al desarrollo del telescopio SELF ( small Exo Life Finder), prototipo de 3,5 metros del futuro telescopio ELF. La delegación estuvo encabezada por el Prof. ZHANG Xuejun, presidente de CIOMP y recientemente nombrado académico de la Academia China de Ingeniería (CAE), y contó con la participación del ingeniero senior Lingtong Zhang y del
    Advertised on
  • Sello conmemorativo del 40 aniversario del IAC emitido por Correos para la serie filatélica “ESPAÑA ES. Ciencia”
    Photomontage
    Correos issues a commemorative stamp for the 40th anniversary of the IAC
    On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has received a very special recognition: the issue by Correos of a commemorative stamp celebrating the centre's four decades of history, research and technological development. The stamp is part of the philatelic series ‘ESPAÑA ES. Science’, a collection that highlights science, technology and innovation as drivers of economic and social development. Under the slogan ‘40 years dreaming stars’, this issue highlights the role of the IAC as an international reference in astrophysics and the relevance of its
    Advertised on
Go back